Jessica Perez is community editor of Latino Initiatives at the Los Angeles Times. Prior to joining The Times in 2017, she spent a year as a journalist in residence at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. She also worked as a digital producer at NBC Los Angeles and was the deputy editor of Boyle Heights Beat, a bilingual community newspaper. She was born in Mexico and raised in Boyle Heights and holds a degree in journalism from Cal State Long Beach.
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Poetry has never been as accessible as it is today, thanks to social media.
In recent years, a new generation of poets has largely shifted from traditional avenues to publishing directly on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms. They’ve gained hundreds of thousands of followers and have cultivated rich online communities largely made up of audiences new to the art form.
Even if you don’t call yourself an avid poetry reader, you’ve likely been touched by the often bite-sized, easy-to-read texts on social media feeds, stories, posts or reels. Here, poets are telling their own stories of Latinidad, sharing the nuances of their generation’s experience, and describing love for people and place, culture and community.
The De Los Latino poetry series will feature new works by Latino poets in Los Angeles and across the U.S. Guest editors will select poets to reflect on themes like belonging, nature and love in relation to Latinidad. A visual artist or photographer will bring the poems to life in video form.
Melania Luisa Marte curates the De Los Latino poetry series, where poets define what love means for those with complicated histories of immigration, assimilation and survival.
José Olivarez curates the De Los Latino poetry series where poets reflect on their relationship with nature.
Los Angeles poet Yesika Salgado curates the first De Los Latino poetry series where poets explore the theme of belonging.